9-storey pagoda near old Canton

some properties of 9

Posted on 26 Jan 2013

The above picture shows a 9-storey pagoda. Number 9 is the highest single digit. Some say there are roughly 9 religions in the world. There are also 9 planets, 9 bodily orifices, 9 muscles attached to the hyoid bone (which enables us to make languages).

There is also the arithmetic rule of Casting 9s which shows a way to check answers in arithmetic (for addition and multiplication). This rule involves checking the total sum of all the individual digits and casting away or throwing away 9 when your running total reaches 9 or more.

For example, look at the following addition: 78542 + 34168 = 112,710

> 8 + 4 3

> 12 3

> 3 3

What I've done above is add up the digits of each of the addends, and cast out 9 as you go along.The other way is to add them all up, divide by 9 and keep the remainder. In this case, the first number gives 26 and the second number 22. Put together, we get 48. 48/9 = 5 remainder 3. The left and right side both yield 3. Thus, our answer is correct.

In Latin the word for 9 is novem. The Gregorian calendar month November retained its name (from the Latin novem meaning "nine") when January and February were added to the Roman calendar.

The prefix non- (as in non-carbonated) comes from the word fo not, lack of. Lack of means not there, absent, missing.Thus, the property of 9 in numbers is that it can behave like 0 (zero). It is the largest single digit (as 9) but it behaves sometimes like the lowest digit (as 0).

If I start to count at 0, 9 is the 10th number in the list. Count along to see for yourself

{0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}

So it is the end of the single digit list, but at the same time the beginning of the 2-digit list.

So, 9 has mystical properties. If one consults some books on numerology, perhaps there are more properties for 9.

The huge cast bell, the Emille Bell, at Gyeongju, South Korea that was made during the Shilla Dynasty has an interesting 3x3 matrix.

Picture courtesy of www.jnthn.net/photos/full/11310.jpg

The Beatles song, Number 9, from their double white Revolution album was a kind of acoustic collage. Was it an attempt to show that this is the beginning of the Age of Integration? An attempt to try new ways to show and use modern technology and to break barriers of thought that persist and separate and divide?

Lelia Broussard has a song, Waiting on the 9, that is ostensibly about waiting for a subway train, but has hints that is about waiting for a moment to shine.

The following is from an English teachers discussions group (link at end).

From LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&srchtype=discussedNews&gid=1609797&item=245468992&type=member&trk=eml-anet_dig-b_nd-pst_ttle-hdp&ut=2UCkTFn8-_sRM1

Ashish Kumar: Why is it "on cloud nine" ?? We often use this phrase "i'm on cloud nine". why its nine??? 7 comments Maarten Wijrdeman • The Wordsworth Dictionary of phrase and fable says nine is the trinity of trinities. Three, being the trinity represents a perfect unity, twice three is the perfect dual and three times three means the perfect plural. So nine represents something perfect. We also have the expression dressed up to the nines, meaning to perfection from head to foot. Ashish Kumar • thanks Marteen, That's damn helpful. :) Daniel Broomfield • One story claims that it originates from the first Cloud Atlas, published in 1896. Of the ten types listed, cumulonimbus was number nine. Not only are cumulonimbus the "fluffiest" looking cloud, they also are the highest type listed of the original ten.Eliana Stella • www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/on-cloud-nine.htmlwww.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cloud%209www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cloud%20ninewww.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Matthew%20cloud There you have a few definitions and curiosities, besides the sites will be helpful in further inquiries. Have fun. Judy Thompson• Finding out the origin of expressions is fun. What is amazing is how expressions work regardless of literal interpretation or understanding of origins. Western culture has a nautical and agricultural heritage. 'Three sheets to the wind' and 'too many irons in the fire'...are examples from NA history that work with no deep understanding of how they can into existence. Eliana Stella • That's right. One nees to go back in history and wonder. Best. Brian McCarthy • Great question and lots of great answers... thanks everyone... I know for me when I use these phrases I never really question their origin... I just might start taking time to ask why? Thanks again!